“When I think about the fan base, I do think back to the days when we first released Fallout 3,” former Bethesda artist Jonah Lobe told me. “We got a lot of hate.”
“A lot of veteran players feel protective of the series – which I can certainly understand, as the IP is so unique and special – some of which translated into hate mail and even death threats, prompting Bethesda to hire its first security guard,” he Continuing, “Yes, of course there is a passionate fan base.
“All kidding aside, Fallout fans really care about Fallout. They know the world of Fallout is special, and the experience of playing Fallout—with its grit, humor, choices, and unique world-building—is nothing like that. It’s different. Most of the Fallout fans I meet these days tell me that their first exposure to the series was through Fallout 3 and 4, and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”
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As Lobe mentioned, the community that has grown up around the Fallout series is now as complex and interesting as any other large fandom you can think of. This week, with the arrival of the Amazon TV show Fallout, it’s also reaching arguably its highest heights ever, at least in terms of mainstream recognition. Don’t get me wrong, the series hasn’t been anywhere near niche in a long time, but the latest wave of Fallout mania might be the biggest yet.
So, what does a community look and feel like when it reaches this wave? Well, as you’d expect from such a large entity, it depends on who you ask.
Lobe stressed that he believes today’s Fallout fans largely belong to one of two different communities, depending on when they first encountered the series. “Fallout 3 and 4 bridged the gap between old-school PC gamers who played the game on CD-ROM in the ’90s (of which I was one) and the millions of new players who discovered the game on Steam or on consoles. gap,” he said.
Devon “Mrs. Devon” McCarthyThe former popular community manager for Fallout 76, who was fired by Microsoft earlier this year, said she believes communities of diverse people are “stronger now than ever.” “There’s no shortage of incredible mods, fanart, cosplay, podcasts, cosplay groups, fan fiction and everything in between,” she added, while Fallout content creator Gophers To sum up, in his opinion, the community “never stops progressing and continues to grow,” especially when it comes to mods.
Content Creator Nikki takes control tunnel snake foolAlthough slightly different from McCarthy’s perspective, their views are similar. “I think this is probably one of the best times for the community,” she told me. “I mean, for me as a creator, [there’s a] There’s a different perspective, too, because I’m looking at engagement, numbers, metrics, and things like that. But after Fallout 76 came out, there seemed to be more investment in the series.
“Has a very loyal fan base [for] 76,” she explained, “but that doesn’t have the effect that many of us hoped for the community, [things] It’s gotten quieter, many of us have noticed a decrease in engagement and activity in our Discord servers, things like that. So now, with everything going on this year, it’s one of the best times to be a part of the community. “
While it may not receive the same attention or acclaim as many of its peers, Fin, one of the group’s overseers Standalone Fallout Wiki, told me that, in his opinion, 76 still showcases the beauty of the community at its best. “The community is generally friendly and helpful to newcomers,” he explains, “providing them with a variety of equipment that can help them get through the early stages of their role.”
Among other examples, the team behind the wiki and others I spoke to mentioned the charity initiative Fallout Hope and the Fallout New Vegas Days party in Good Springs, Nevada. Regarding the latter, McCarthy said: “I think what makes this incident so notable is that it didn’t come from Bethesda Game Studios.
“When I was a Fallout community manager, I would give away free Vanguard Salon merchandise to attendees,” she explains, “but beyond that, the entire event was made by fans, for fans. Studio The absence in the creation and organization process made the event so authentic that there was no other motivation in terms of advertising or marketing, it was purely for the fun and love of the franchise, and because of that, fans were able to do so much more with it .”
An interesting example comes from another overseer of the independent Fallout wiki, his name is Blubbin. “A friend of mine, John, did a fire dance show at the end of every night,” he said of last year’s New Vegas Day party. “He had a huge outpouring of support from everyone there and drew a big crowd, even though the action had nothing to do with Fallout. People just wanted to show their support for this community member and his passion, and I really think it’s Great.”
That said, as many members of the team (which runs a public Discord server dedicated to the series) told me, as you’d expect when it comes to Fallout fans considering its size , things are not always sunshine and roses. “The Fallout community is diverse, to say the least,” said Rimuru_mayhem, a member of “Future-Tec,” the team’s apt name for its community-focused support staff. “On the one hand you have lovely people, but on the other hand you have degenerate sycophants who have completely missed the point of the game.
“An example of the latter is the Fallout Discord server I joined a while ago, which is absolutely filled with Legion and Enclave fans, as well as actual Nazis. Not surprisingly, it also has severe homophobia and transphobia. I think it’s hard to say “Fallout’s community is definitely one way or another” because it’s still very diverse in terms of what people take away from it and their personal beliefs. I’m tentatively hoping that its community will be more progressive, but I don’t know if we Will get rid of people who have zero media literacy.”
Another member of the team, Solomon742, emphasized that while such groups do exist and their existence causes concern among many members of the fandom, he believes they are simply “a result of having a large community.” “These people are easily avoided/ignored,” he said. “By and large, [the community] It is a positive force. Meanwhile, Narratorjack, another wiki team member, said that in her estimation, the community is “better than it was in the past.” “While there are still problematic characters that pop up from time to time,” she asserted, “things like fandom, gatekeeping, and… Problems like this are no longer as serious as they used to be. “
Thankfully, the former Bethesda employees I spoke with, McCarthy and Lobe, described their current experiences with the fandom in terms that seem to reflect these assessments. “I have a very happy relationship with the community,” the latter said. “The people who talked trash about the game have largely left, leaving behind a group of die-hard and determined people. These people celebrate the history, lore, developers, and attention to detail. Of course, for the modding community , it’s all threefold; their efforts keep the game (and its spirit) alive long after launch.”
So, with all that being said about the Fallout community, how are people feeling about the show’s arrival?
“The launch of this series opens a lot of doors for new audiences, and it’s exciting to think of a whole new generation of fans experiencing the crazy and wacky world of Fallout for the first time,” said McCarthy. “I can’t wait to watch the first game live, there’s really something incredible going on [in seeing] Someone leaves the shelter for the first time. I’m also really excited about the resulting cosplay and prop replicas! This community is so welcoming and creative, and I really hope this TV show brings more new faces and creative minds to the table. “
“I hope it lasts a long time. I want more seasons, that would be great,” Tunnelsnakesfool told me. She added that from a Fallout content creator’s perspective, the show represents some different challenges. “It’s a completely new thing and it’s going to be completely new to cover this show as a show that’s still part of the series and we’re all going to be experimenting with how we’re going to do that.”
In addition to wanting to see where the show ends up going, members of the Fallout community I spoke with also had mixed feelings about the future of the series after Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. Thoughts ranged from satisfactory to overall. Mild concern. However, as many of them have hinted, how fans actually feel about Fallout 5 when it releases will likely depend heavily on how The Elder Scrolls 6 is received, assuming The Elder Scrolls 6 is as popular as people’s If it is released first as expected.
“I do feel like Bethesda could really do with a plain old ‘Victory’ [its] Next version,” Gopher said. “I’m sure they don’t like the negativity they’ve gotten over the past few years. No matter what people say, everyone wants people to like what they do. He added that he’s very optimistic when it comes to Fallout’s current status. “I’m actually hopeful because while I don’t like the multiplayer aspect of Fallout 76, there are signs that Bethesda Some design changes have been abandoned [from Fallout 4] – [the] For example, I didn’t like the voiced main character. I think Bethesda knows what the fan base wants, and that’s half the battle.The only question in my mind is [it] Will be delivered. “
Interestingly, Tunnelsnakesfool told me that she might see a reality in which Fallout 5 is actually a very different kind of test for Bethesda than The Elder Scrolls 6. “Pete Hines just retired and I have a feeling Todd will retire after the next Elder Scrolls [game]. I don’t think he’s going to be around for another five, six years. I think he was in his fifties and, you know, he was wealthy. ” So, she suggested, if that happens, the next Fallout game will be more like “Can Bethesda do this without Pete and Todd?” “These two giants, do you know? And there will be more [a prove it moment] This is more important than anything else for the next generation of Bethesda. “
Until then, the community seems keen on getting as much of Fallout 3 as possible as we get further and further away from the early days of Fallout 3 that Lobe mentioned. For some people I spoke to, it’s more of a TV show style medium, for others it’s comics, and for quite a few it’s more of a spin-off game, at best. are those games that may end up being closer to New Vegas than New Vegas in terms of widespread acceptance. 76, even if they do not conceptually directly reflect the former.
So there’s definitely a lot fans want to see or be willing to try Fallout-wise, even now that it’s finally making the big leap to the big screen. However, Blubbin from the Fallout Wiki came up with an idea after discussing the idea of a different kind of spin-off game, and I think we can all agree that Bethesda needs to implement it.
“I’m more attached to the world than I am to the gameplay,” he said. “Basically, what I’m saying is, give me Fallout Kart.”
